Guide unit for sliding doors



July 15, 1969 G. J. HARBERTSON GI JIDE UNIT FOR SLIDING DOORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 10. 1967 FIG. 5

FIGS

I NVENTOR. GRANT J. HARBERTSON.

ATTORNEY July 15, 1969 G. J. HARBERTSON GUIDE UNIT FOR SLIDING DOORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed'Oct. 10, 1967 FIG. 9

FIG. IO

FIG. u

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,454,979 GUIDE UNIT FOR SLIDING DOORS Grant J. Harbertson, 1852 S. Jerri Drive, Bountiful, Utah 84010 Filed Oct. 10, 1967, Ser. No. 674,215

Int. Cl. Ed 13/02 US. Cl. 16-90 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A guide unit for sliding doors that can be used with carpets of any normal pile height and doors of any stand- BRIEF DESCRIPTION This invention relates to guide units for sliding doors of the kind that are suspended from an overhead track and is more particularly related to guide units such as are capable of being installed either over or carpeting or similar compressible floor coverings, or directly on an uncovered floor.

There have been many guide units for sliding doors developed in the past, and these, when properly installed on a non-compressible floor, perform in a fairly satisfactory manner. However, when placed on a rug or other such compressible floor covering, they have not been satisfactory. This is because they sink into the carpeting and then are incapable of properly performing their intended guide function.

In US. Patent No. 3,205,529, there is shown a guide unit for sliding doors that is specially constructed for use with carpets. However, this guide unit does not provide for adjustments to fit doors of any standard thickness and requires a considerable amount of skill in its placement.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a door guide unit having a base that will rest on the top of a carpet or other such compressible floor covering and that will be adequately supported against sinking into the carpet. Another object is to provide such a door guide unit that can be easily installed and adjusted to fit doors of any standard thickness.

Principal features of the invention include a center base section and a pair of end base sections slidable into and out of guidts provided therefor in the center base section. The end sections are held against rotation by their engagement with the center section, but are not fastened thereto, and the center section and the end sections, together, make up the base.

Separate anchoring means secure each section of the base to the floor in a set position, thus allowing the end sections to be moved into or out of the center base section as necessary to accommodate doors of varying thicknesses.

At lease one support leg is provided to support the base at a desired height and in one preferred embodiment the support leg is provided by an anchoring means.

Additional objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and drawings, disclosing what is presently contemplated as being the best mode of the invention.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2, a side elevation view;

FIG. 3, a view like FIG. 1, but showing another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4, a side elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5, atop plan view FIG. 6, a vertical section, taken on the line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7, a view like FIG. 1, of still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8, a side elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9, a top plan view;

FIG. 10, a vertical section, taken thru the middle of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11, a vertical section showing, fragmentarily, a pair of sliding doors and the guide of FIGS. 7-10, in position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings:

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the door guide of the invention, shown generally at 15, comprises three base sections: a center section 16, and two end sections 17 and 18.

The center section 16 has an upstanding guide wall 19 that is adapted to protrude between two sliding doors, with the faces of the wall 19 then serving as inner guides for the doors. A screw 20 has its head fixedly embedded in the center base section, its shank projecting downwardly therebelow. As will become apparent, screw 20 serves as both an anchoring device that will fix the position of the center base section, and as a support leg for the guide.

The central part of each end of center base section 16 is cut away at 21 to form extensions 22 in which grooves 23 are formed to receive corresponding flanges 24 of the end base sections 17 and 18.

Flanges 24 fit snugly, but slidably into the grooves 23 so that the end base sections can reciprocate into and out of, but not otherwise move with respect to, the center base section 15. Obviously, the flanges could be formed on the center section, with corresponding grooves in the end sections.

Each end section has an upstanding wall 25, extending transversely thereacross, with faces of the walls 25 being parallel to the faces of wall 19, when the flanges 24 are fitted within the grooves 23.

A hole 26 is provided in each of the end base members, through which a screw 27, can be inserted, as an anchoring member, to fix the position of the end member. While the screws 27 are here described as being the anchoring members, it should be obvious that other devices, such as bolts, adapted to screw into threaded fittings in the floor, could alternatively be used. However, in many instances, screws, capable of being passed through the carpet or other such compressible floor covering and into a wooden or composition floor, will be most satisfactory.

In use, the position for the center base section 16 is determined and the section is grasped and turned to drive the screw 20 through the carpet and into the floor 3 such that wall 19 -will be between the sliding doors, with its faces extending parallel thereto. Continued turning of the center base section then drives the screw 20 into the floor until the center base section is at the desired height, resting on the carpet or other compressible floor covering and just beneath the doors, and is positioned such that a face of wall 19 will act as an inner guide for each door.

Thereafter, flanges 24 of end sections 17 and 18 are inserted into the corresponding grooves 23 of center base section 16 and the end sections are moved inwardly until the walls 25 thereof are positioned to serve as outer guides for the doors. Screws 27 are driven downwardly through holes 26 and the carpeting to bite into the floor and to hold the end sections against further movement.

Screw 20 also serves as a support leg for the center base section and the end sections are supported by the center body section, so the guide unit cannot be pushed down into the carpet and it will at all times be positioned to effectively guide travel of the sliding doors. When all three anchor members are screwed into the floor the door guide unit 15 is securely held against turning.

The entire operation is very simple and is easily performed. The end sections can be easily positioned after the doors have been hung, and there is, therefore, very little possibility that they can be improperly placed.

In FIGS. 3-6, there is shown, at 30, another embodiment of the door guide. In this embodiment, the center base section 31 has a pair of aligned, but spaced apart, upstanding walls 32 and 33 that together form the inner guide surfaces for the sliding doors. A hole 34, between the walls 32 and 33, is adapted to receive an anchoring device, here shown as screw 35, and grooves 36, formed interiorly of cut-out portions 37, are adapted to receive flanges 38 of identical end body sections 39 and 40. In addition, a pair of legs 41 and 42 project downwardly from the center base section. The legs are tapered, being large at their ends that are attached to the center base section and becoming smaller as they project therefrom. The legs are ringed by grooves at spaced intervals, and they can be easily cut, using the grooves as guides, to virtually and desired length.

As in the previous embodiment, the end base sections each include an upstanding wall 43, adapted to form an outer guide for a sliding door and a hole 44 through which an anchor means, such as a screw 45, is inserted.

'In this embodiment of the invention, the center body section is positioned to place the upstanding walls 32 and 33 between the sliding doors and screw 35 is inserted through hole 34, the carpet (not shown) and into the floor to secure the center section in position. In so positioning the center base section, the legs are cut to desired length such that they will rest on a layer of compressed nap and the carpet backing and will support the base at the desired height, just below the bottom of the doors.

Thereafter, the doors are hung and the flanges 38 of end sections 39 and 40 are inserted into grooves 36 of the center base section 31.

The door guide is aligned with respect to the doors, screws 45 are inserted and turned down tight, and screw 35 is tightened. The door guide is then ready for use. The screws 35 and 45 prevent its turning and the legs 41 and 42 support the unit and keep it from being pushed further into the carpet. The center base section, through grooves 36 and flanges 38 supports the end sections.

Still another embodiment of the invention is shown at 49 in FIGS. 7-11. In this embodiment, the center body section 50 includes a pair of aligned, spaced-apart, upstanding walls 51 and 52, with a hole 53 between them to receive a screw 54 as an anchor member. As in the embodiment of FIGS. 3-6, the upstanding walls cooperate to form an inner guide surface for the sliding doors. No grooves, such as are found in the previously described embodiments, are formed in center body section 50, however. Instead, the underside of the body section is cut out at 55 to receive a tongue 56 of each of the end sections 58 and 58.

End sections 57 and 58 also include upstanding walls 59, that form outer guides for the doors and have holes 60 therethrough to receive screws 61 as anchor members. As with the embodiment of FIGS. 3-6, the center section is provided with tapered, grooved legs 62 and 63 that will compress the carpet nap and rest on the base to support the center section. Since the center section will not support the end sections, additional, similar legs 64 and 65 protrude from the bottoms of each of the end sections 57 and 58 to provide the necessary support.

The legs can be cut to desired length and this embodiment of the guide is installed in the same manner as that shown in FIGS. 3-6, with the walls 51 and 52 between the sliding doors 66 and 67, FIG. 11, where their faces serve as inner guides for the doors, and walls 59, positioned as outer guides. The legs are cut to desired length, such that they rest on compressed nap 68 and the carpet backing 69 and screws 54 and 61 are inserted through their holes 53 and 60 and are passed through the carpet to be screwed into the floor 70.

I claim:

1. A guide unit for sliding doors comprising a center base section having an upstanding wall arranged to serve as interior guide surfaces between a pair of sliding doors;

a pair of end base sections each including an upstanding wall arranged to serve as an exterior guide surface for a sliding door;

means for guiding said end sections longitudinally toward and away from the center section and for restraining the end sections against other movement with respect to the center section;

support means for holding said base sections a desired distance above a floor; and

means for independently and adjustably fixing the position of each section to the floor.

2. A guide unit according to claim 1, wherein the means for guiding the end sections longitudinally toward and away from the center section and the support means for holding said base sections a desired distance above a floor include flanges formed on the end sections and grooves formed in the center base section, said flanges being adapted to reciprocate in said grooves.

3. A guide unit according to claim 2, wherein the support means for the base sections further includes an anchor means having a shank adapted to be threaded into the floor and its 'head fixed to the center base section.

4. A guide unit according to claim 3, wherein the anchor means comprises a screw having its head embedded in the center base section and its shank projecting downwardly therefrom.

5. A guide unit according to claim 4, wherein the means for independently fixing the position of each base section to the floor includes the screw having its head embedded in the center base section and a screw inserted downwardly through each of the end sections.

6. A guide unit according to claim 2, wherein the support means for the base further includes legs fixed to the bottom of the center base section and projecting downwardly therefrom.

7. A guide unit according to claim 6, wherein the means for independently fixing the position of each base section to the floor comprises anchor means adapted to be passed downwardly through each of the base sections and to be threaded into the floor.

8. A guide unit according to claim 7, wherein the anchor means comprises a screw inserted downwardly through each base section.

9. A guide unit according to claim 1, wherein the means for guiding the end section toward and away from the center section comprises cut-out portions of the center base section and tongues on the end sections, each adapted to be inserted into one of said cut-out portions.

10. A guide unit according to claim 9', wherein the support means for holding said base sections a desired distance above a floor, comprises legs extending downwardly from each of the sections; and

the means for independently, adjustably fixing the position of each section to the floor comprises a screw passed downwardly through each section and adapted to be screwed into the floor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1933 Borovicka.

6/ 195 6 Stark 1690 8/ 1960 Blackmer 16--90 9/ 1965' Vintan 16-90 1/ 1967 Hentzi 16-90 10 DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner 

